Prod Texas Tech coach Mike Leach to say what makes Crabtree such a prodigious receiving talent, and he responds with a curious answer for a football coach: “He has a great sense of spaceÃ¢â‚¬Â¦and the coach thinks the player developed his keen sense of surroundings on the basketball court.

According to the article, Crabtree told Bobby Knight he would be all-Big 12 if he played hoops.

Crabtree’s cousin David Wells believes the receiver’s greatness is rooted not in hoops but in boxing. Sparring taught Crabtree what his body could doÃ¢â‚¬Â¦”Training like a boxer really worked on Michael’s reflexes,” Wells says. “He worked on his hand-eye coordination and was constantly working with his body, always having to figure out how to counter everything, how to change angles.”